


A Day in the Life~ August 2018

by ERamos9696, happy29



Series: A Day in the Life [14]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-10-05
Packaged: 2019-07-10 09:03:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 31
Words: 5,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15946136
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ERamos9696/pseuds/ERamos9696, https://archiveofourown.org/users/happy29/pseuds/happy29
Summary: Danny and Steve McGarrett-Williams have been partners for almost 9 years, married for a year, not a single actual real date before their wedding... It's all a day in the life of this couple. A new month, a new journey, new obstacles, new challenges to overcome. Is there anything that can tear these two apart?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ArcticSeasons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticSeasons/gifts), [Justsomegirlxoxo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Justsomegirlxoxo/gifts), [Miek1976](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miek1976/gifts), [Jillebeth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jillebeth/gifts), [jlc17](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jlc17/gifts), [Jewelbaby](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jewelbaby/gifts), [ERamos9696](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ERamos9696/gifts), [carex](https://archiveofourown.org/users/carex/gifts).



> Are any of you bored with this series yet? We sure hope not! What an amazing group of followers we have. WE love you all! Thank you for the dedication, the kudos, the reviews, the almost instant comments after we post. You all rock and totally make our day! This month is dedicated to you all!!!! To every single one of our readers. Enjoy the new month...
> 
> We do not own pretend to own the characters of "Hawaii Five-0".

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Danno is in New Jersey with Nahele and Steve back in Hawaii with Grace and Charlie. There is a 6 hour time difference so when you see the times in the texts, that is Hawaii time, and Danno is 6 hours ahead of that.

August 2, 2018

I don't know what the fuck time it is...

I have a serious case of jet lag and a crick in my neck that would give most quarterbacks the Sunday afternoon off. I promised Steve I would take a sleeping pill once we got in the air because of the long flight and it was night and I knew I needed to get some solid sleep, but I wasn't anticipating the crick in the neck. I could really use Steve's magic fingers at the moment.

Nahele is loving being here with my family again. Ma and Pop are going to spoil him. They look good, my parents. A little tired but good. It's good to be home. I don't like the circumstances that have brought me here, but I'm going to try my hardest not to dwell on that and enjoy the time here with Nahele and Joe. Joe... funny guy thought he was going to get away with staying at a hotel. Ma stopped that thought before it had a chance to go anywhere.

It's only been half a day and I miss the other half of my family already. This 6 hour time difference isn't going to help matters any...

 


	3. Chapter 3




	4. Chapter 4




	5. Chapter 5




	6. Chapter 6

August 6, 2018

7am Jersey time... 1 am Hawaii time. All I can think about is how hard it has become to sleep without Steve especially when it seems my world is flipping upside down at the moment. I'm so upset that no one called me to tell me about Pop being in the hospital from another episode as they called it like it was nothing. Anything to do with your beating heart isn't nothing... I know, because mine stopped. Even if I couldn't have come home when it happened I would still liked to have known. And now I find out they are selling my childhood home. God it's too much. Steve says buy it... and what? Let some stranger live in the house I grew up in? How does that even make sense? He's always talking about letting go. Maybe this is one of those times.

I miss him and the kids. He should never be allowed to take Gracie shopping. Between the two of them we are going to go broke buying shoes. She needs them to express herself... I thought I married a Navy SEAL, turns out he's a fashion expert of sorts.

 

 


	7. Chapter 7




	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning piece was written by ERamos9696.

While He Was Sleeping

 

Steve walked into their bedroom in ninja mode as to not wake his husband.  Danny had finally given into Steve’s many pleads for Danny to go to bed. He knew that Danny had barely gotten any shut-eye while visiting his parents.   

 

The time zone difference was the least of the things keeping Danny up all night.  Between dealing with the debacle that was Doris’s latest attempt at bribing Danny, and then learning about his father’s latest health scare, and then news of the selling of his childhood home, it would be enough for three adult men to deal with.

 

Steve watched Danny’s chest as it brought a smile to his face that his husband was alive and well.  Except of course the bags underneath his eyes. He would give his husband as much time as he needed.  The trade off was that he was home, in their bed, and resting.

 

Steve changed into fresh board shorts while making a mental list in his head of all the things that he wanted to get done before Danny was awake again.  It was these little things that made him feel like he was a good husband. He had all of Nahele’s and Danny’s clothes in the wash. He made sure that nothing was missing from the grocery list.  Dinner was planned out and perfect for the homecoming.

 

It was hard for Steve not to take his place by his husband’s side, but he knew if he did that, it would only cut short Danno’s much needed sleep.  But Steve still had the need to touch him to make sure that he was really there.

 

He wanted to tell Danny how much he really missed him as soon as he had his arms around him when they picked them up at the airport.  He wanted to tell him that although he kept telling him to spend more time in New Jersey with the family, he wanted to beg him to come home because the need to have his partner, well, be his partner, was overwhelming.  

 

Steve’s trance was broken when Danny said, “Stop staring at me you creeper.”

 

Steve smiled at the fact that now he had a chance to do what he wanted to do for the last five minutes.  He bent down and kissed his husband on the lips. “I missed you.”

Danny opened his eyes as he enjoyed the kiss.  “Why don’t you join me for a nap?”

 

As much as Steve wanted to, he gave his husband a quick peck and walked over to the bedroom door.  “I would but I got things to do.”

 

“What things?”  Danno asked as he closed his eyes again and adjusted his head back into his pillow.

 

“Husband things.”  Steve really wasn’t there for any kudos to come his way.

 

“Okay, I’ve got sleeping things.”

 

Steve went downstairs and into the kitchen.  Grace was at the sink filling her water bottle.  “Nahele and Charlie are in the apartment. I think Nahele is happy to be home.  He hasn’t said one mean thing to me about my new shoes.”

 

Steve walked over to his daughter and hugged her harder than he should have.

“Daddy, I can’t breathe.”

 

Steve laughed as he let her go.  Before she could leave Steve said, “Gracie, Baby, thank you.”

 

She stopped in her tracks trying to figure out what she was being thanked for.

 

“I know you love to give us grief about how we still act like newlyweds, but having Danno on the mainland these last couple of days felt longer than it really should.  Thanks for being an amazing daughter. Okay?” Steve had no idea why he was getting emotional over a thank you.

 

Gracie walked back over to Steve and returned the hug she had received earlier.  “Dad, I missed them too. Thanks for being such an awesome father.”

 

Steve felt the love of his Gracie.  He knew that his family was home and safe.  And later, when Danno was up and around again, he was going to tell his husband how much he loved him for making his life better than he ever knew it could be.

 


	9. Chapter 9




	10. Chapter 10

August 10, 2018

7am

Apparently I slept in Charlie's bed with him all night. Good thing I'm short and he's little. Although I still have a nasty crick in my neck from trying to share his pillow. It feels so good to be back home with my family. God I missed Steve and Grace and Charlie so much. Steve was right, I didn't get a whole lot of sleep, a lot less than I promised I would. But it is so hard to sleep knowing that he will still be awake for hours. I'm glad that we are all back in the same time zone and under the same roof. Although, I miss Ma and Pop already. I wish instead of buying a condo there, they would buy one here. I was sure after one more winter Pop would give in and move to a warmer climate, one where he doesn't have to shovel the winter snow. But I get it... the girls are there. Matty is buried there. I get why they don't want to leave. It's their home, even if they aren't in our home anymore. It will be weird to visit. A condo... I still can't wrap my head around it.

Maybe I will buy our house.

But that isn't exactly letting go is it? I'm not very good at that concept.

Just ask Steve.

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

 


	12. Chapter 12

 

August 12, 2018

9:30 pm

Steve is amazing and the king of all surprises. I can not believe that he managed to get the brick oven from Silvio's where my parents had their first date. I'm speechless. I can't even come up with the words to convey how much that means to me. It's like the restaurant gods are finally smiling upon us and this whole dream was meant to be. No wonder Joe kept disappearing and then went to New York before Hawaii.

I couldn't have pulled Steve's off without Steve. The money would have come from somewhere, but the support that he has given me for my dream has been the pillar that I needed. Everyone else has been downers and so doubtful that it would ever take off let alone succeed and all I ever needed to hear from Steve were the words he said when we bought the place. 

"I believe in you, I believe in us... that's all that matters."


	13. Chapter 13

August 13, 2018

7am

Steve and the kids are out for their swim. I can not believe that Nahele starts college classes today. Seems like yesterday him and Gracie were fighting over the same backpack. This past year has just flown by. So many things have happened, good, bad, great. It has been a whirlwind. An amazing whirlwind. I don't remember ever feeling this much love when I was married to Rachel. I suppose both her fault and mine. It's too late to explore what went wrong between us. I'm happy where I'm at now.

Steve has his checkup today and that always stirs the anxiety within me. I keep waiting for the day when the doctor comes back and says his luck has run out that now we have to take a different approach. It's been good news for too long. That's the pessimist in me talking, the glass half full line of thinking. I can't seem to shake it. The idea of losing him scares me. The mere thought of him getting sick frightens me to the core. I dread these check ups. Steve on the other hand thinks the opposite. Because he knows within his soul that it's going to be good news, always good news. I don't think he knows how to fear anything, and if he does, he's great at hiding it. Me on the other hand... wear my feelings on my sleeve. But when I try and tell him how scared I am about the future... he tells me to stop. Worrying gets me nowhere. And he's right. But it doesn't mean I can just shut it off either.

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

August 14, 2018

9:30 pm

We are one day into school and Grace has already declared war on social studies. Rachel called and said Charlie hates math and Nahele is busting at the seams with homework. Oh my god it's going to be a long year with homework stress. Sometimes I wish I could just do it for them so the anxiety of it all disappears. I know that they don't learn that way. I wonder if my parents ever felt like that at any point with the four of us. We all had our better subjects. Social studies is still my least favorite.

I still don't like the idea that Stan paid the kids' tuition without discussing it with us first. But whatever. Another fight I won't win. Doesn't matter that his pockets are deeper than ours, it isn't his place to pay it. They are my kids not his, regardless of the time they lived with him.

 


	15. Chapter 15




	16. Chapter 16

 


	17. Chapter 17

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So today I went to learn how to make sushi with a group of friends... had a drink at the bar before we were waiting for the last 6 people to show up, ordered another before we went back to start making sushi because the first one went down so easily, and then the owner tells us that we will be sampling beer as well... let's just say I am feeling Danno's hangover today.


	19. Chapter 19




	20. Chapter 20

 

 

August 20, 2018

9:45 pm

Steve has fallen asleep with his head in my lap. I think I have too much going on in my head to even attempt sleep at the moment. Taking a sleeping pill would probably be the smart thing to do but I need to work out in my head how to play this undercover gig. It's going to be a change for us with me being gone from late evening until about 4 in the morning. I hate leaving all of the family stuff to fall on Steve's shoulders. He can handle it, but we are a team. The kids are also worried about my safety and for good reasons. There are a lot of reports of bad things happening at this club, drugs and guns are nothing to mess around with. I didn't feel comfortable asking one of the rookies to do the job and Tex with his twang would stick out like a sore thumb. Besides, the Governor asked me to do it. I should feel honored I guess. 

Too many thoughts are swirling in my head. Can I really do this? I've never bartended in my life and although I picked it up pretty easily, practicing in an empty bar is a lot less stressful than a club full of demanding drunk people. Wasn't really planning on learning a new job skill this week, but with 5-0 there is never a dull moment. Unless Steve and I are on vacation and then everything goes quiet. I'm going to make up a new set of curriculum for the incoming police cadets... bartending 101.


	21. Chapter 21




	22. Chapter 22




	23. Chapter 23

August 23, 2018

Happy birthday, Matty. God do I miss him. I have to keep reminding myself that it was him who fucked up his life, not me. But it still haunts me that my decision to let him go cost him his life. An eye for an eye people say sets you free, makes things even... so far from the truth. It just adds a whole layer of extra grief for the survivor to work through. How many times have I asked myself if it was worth it? How many times have I given myself different answers? What's done is done... none of it will bring my little brother back.

Today starts the undercover gig and I think in the back of my mind I took it so it would keep my mind off Matt. That and no one else would have been able to pull it off. Steve maybe, but the others, no. They need more time on the job. I guess that isn't totally true. Kono went undercover right away and did great. I needed the distraction and this came at the right time. Staying up all night is going to be different. When was the last time I pulled an all nighter on purpose? I already can't wait to crawl into bed with Steve when I get home at the butt crack of dawn.

 

 


	24. Chapter 24




	25. Chapter 25

 


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end piece was written by ERamos9696

 

Guy Walks into a Bar

 

“Try this one.”  Danny handed his sister-in-law a small glass.

Mary put it up to her nose.

“Why are you smelling it?”

“Because the last drink made me vomit in my mouth.”

“That’s why they call that drink the vomit maker.  This one is better I swear.”

Mary trusted him but only took a small  sip. She found it delightful and finished it off.  “Bro, I could become a stay at home drunk with this one.  What’s this one called?”

“Rainbows and Unicorns.”

“Are you serious?  It must be a hit at a gay bar.  It’s delicious.”

“Actually, you would be surprised at what I serve the most there.”

Mary gave him her full attention.

“Mostly top shelf stuff.”

“Well, then these guys do not know what they are missing.  Usually when I go to a gay bar, we are ordering everything fruity.”

“Are you coming out to me?”  Danny acted like he was honored.

“No, you idiot.  Girls hit a lot of gay bars, haven’t you noticed?”

“Tell you the truth, I haven’t been able to get out from behind the bar.”

“Well, gay bars are a safe haven for girls.  Guys aren’t trying to roofie your drinks or bore you with cheesy pickup lines.”

Now Danny was acting offended.  “My days of cheesy pick up lines are long behind me.  Although you should hear some of the things your brother says to get me in bed.”

“Please don’t say another word, he’s still my brother and no, that is not an image I want in my head.”

They both laughed at the thought.  

Danny looked over watching Steve and Joe play with the little ones in the living room.  He could hear the two older ones discussing the fate of high school football in the kitchen.

“Hey, where’d you go right now?”

“I was just thinking about this guy who came into the bar on my first night.”  Danny scooted his chair closer to her not wanting anyone else to hear.

“How is the whole undercover thing going, by the way?  I’m liking the no shaving thing.”

“I hate it; the leaving my family thing and I get it.  Part of being a part of this unit means that we get called in for special cases once and awhile.  But I hate leaving them. Even if it is while they are sleeping.”

Mary rubbed his back hoping to relieve him of the tension she could see that he was carrying.

“So, this guy walks in, and comes straight to the bar.”

“Straight?” Mary asked as she continued to rub his back.

Danny didn’t fall for her cheap joke.

“He’s there about an hour before the place starts hopping so maybe there’s ten people in the entire place, and that includes the employees.”  Danny stopped to twist his back closer to her. “Right there.”

Instead she slapped him. “Hey bro, I didn’t fail out of masseuse school and then forge a certificate and license for nothing.”

Danny looked at her in pure horror.

“Hey, but that’s a story for another time.  Go on.”

They both broke into laughter again giving Danny the strength the continue his story.

“So he orders a scotch and I serve it to him.  I’m just happy I don’t have to make anything using the blender.  He throws it back and then I catch him looking at my ring as he taps for another one.  He tells me that he was going to give me some line but after he sees the ring he knows I’m off limits.”

“It’s like he knows you’re husband carries a gun.”

“Many guns.  Anyway, I tell him that he’s right.  But then I remember that I told the guys that interviewed me for the job that I was a widower.  So I tell this guy that I still wear the ring because I can’t let go of my husband. I tell him how we were partners for a long time.  Then we were partners in love. Then we opened a restaurant together, and then out of nowhere, mother nature wanted him more than I did, and like that he was gone.  So, I sold the business, packed up my shit, moved as far west as I could and here I am serving drinks.” 

Danny suddenly realized that he and Mary were the only ones in the house.  

“They went to Nahele’s to look for Charlie’s turtle.  Joanie swore she saw it in there.”

“It’s in Gracie’s room.”

“Hey, it looked like Papa Joe and Joanie were on a mission.”

Danny continued with his story. “So, I’m telling this guy enough of the truth here and there to make it sound believable, and then I stop, because deep down, I feel like I am dying.  It occurs to me that what I am saying could really happen. That Steve could start losing his battle with this radiation thing, and if we’re not careful, I could lose him. Like that.  Gone. And then the guy apologizes and he leaves me a fat tip. He said he never meant to make me cry.”

Mary’s eyes started to water.  It was then that Danny realized tears were running down his cheek.

“Man, why does this keep happening.  I didn’t even know I was crying until that guy said something, and then now, when I saw that look on your face.”

Mary wrapped her arms around him squeezing him as tight as she could.  “He’s okay Danny. He’s okay. I promise you he’s okay.”

Danny felt she was telling him the truth and kissing the side of her head, cradling it, and whispering, “Please, God, Please.”

Both of them finally pulled apart wiping the tears off their own faces before they could be caught and questioned about their tender moment.  

“I don’t know what you put in that last drink, but I really liked it.  How about another one?”

“Hey, I didn’t take a crash course in bartending school and fake a certificate of accomplishment for nothing.”  Now both of them were laughing so hard that they were crying again.

Danny looked down at his phone to see it was a text from Steve, telling him that he was going to take Mary and Joanie home before the rain hit harder.

“You two text way too much.”

“Well, we would send smoke signals to each other but, you know, the rain.”  He got up to make Mary another drink before she had to leave with her brother.  

He stopped mid step and turned to her.  “Hey Mary, thanks.”


	27. Chapter 27




	28. Chapter 28

 


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The beginning piece was written by happy29.

Danno's Day

I roll over in bed, searching for Steve’s solid body and discover cooling bed sheets instead. I crack an eye open and search his side of the bed in hopes that he was still there just hugging the edge of the bed. No such luck. From the feel of the sheets, he had been up for a while. I fumble on the nightstand for my phone to catch the time and groan. Why did morning have to roll around so quickly? Didn’t we just crawl into bed an hour ago? It sure felt like it, but then after the last week, I’m beyond exhausted and can’t even remember what day it is. 

I call out for Steve and am met with silence. Odd. I try again. Nothing. Glancing again at the time on my phone I realize it’s too late for his swim with the kids. I toss the phone to the side, still too tired to try and get up. Just five more minutes I tell myself and then I’ll go search for the Neanderthal. I draw the covers back up to my chin and close my eyes, thinking back over the past few days.

_ Steve keeps reminding me how lucky I got with the drugs as if I didn’t already figure that one out myself. I’m a detective and they were hiding there in plain site on the bar top for anyone to take. Well not just anyone or the entire club would have been drugged out of their minds. Anyone with a certain handstamp that paid the extra fee at the door had free dibs. I’m angry with myself that I didn’t catch it sooner. Since when do bars have sugar packets on the bar tops? There’s no coffee to put sugar in, nobody orders tea and everyone knows only salt goes on the rim of a margarita glass. Yet there they were, hundreds of ‘sugar’ packets tucked neatly in their containers. I was so busy filling drink orders and warding off guys flirting with me that I never noticed anyone ever taking any. Some detective I am. I had made myself a glass of tea and grabbed a packet from under the counter but never got a chance to drink it so I shoved the packet in my pocket until I had a free moment. That moment didn’t come until the next day when I was with the kids in the kitchen. _

_ I was three swallows in when it hit me. Literally. Thank God I didn’t drink the whole glass or who knows what would have happened. Nahele knew something was off when I tried texting Steve to tell him. I dropped my phone twice, my pupils went wide and I started to shake. That was not sugar that I had just stirred into my iced tea. _

_ Steve met us at the hospital and was angry and concerned all rolled into one. Not that I can blame him. I don’t know what the doctors gave me to counter the drugs but I felt a whole lot better by the time he got there. I was still a bit unsteady on my feet and had a headache the size of Texas but I was bound and determined to shut that place down tonight. Enough was enough.  The goal was to figure out where the drugs were coming from, now we knew. Once I got some food into my system I knew I would feel better. I dared anyone to try and stop me from finishing what I had started. _

_ I arrived at the club later that night, headache still lingering but solid once again on my feet. I chatted it up with the other bartenders, looking at everything and everyone with fresh eyes. My top button was undone and catching every word, a hidden mic disguised as a boring button. _

_ Steve was in the wings waiting for me to give the signal to bombard the place with police presence. There were already undercover units stationed throughout the club who had eyes on me from day one but I felt a lot more at ease knowing that Steve was there as well. Maybe that made me a bit bolder, maybe it was drugging myself. Either way, this was ending tonight. I had already caught a couple of the bartenders slipping sugar packets to some of the patrons and then disappear themselves. I had wondered where they were going when they had disappeared for an hour at a time on previous nights. I was about to find out myself. _

_ “Yo, bossman wants to see you.” Kyle the guy in charge of the floor said to me as he threw his thumb over his shoulder towards the office down the back hall. _

_ This was a first. I hadn’t been allowed back there nor been able to sneak my way back there either. I tossed my towel on the back counter and shrugged my shirt back into place after someone had tried working their hands down it. Steve was not liking the idea of that I’m sure. I stepped out from behind the bar, allowing him to lead the way. _

_ He knocked on the door once and we entered, the boss whom I had yet to lay eyes on was giving me the once over. It made my blood boil and sent shivers down my spine to be gawked at like that. _

_ “You wanted to see me?” I asked as cool headed as I could muster. _

_ “Ah yes,” he replied with a sly smile. “I can see why he likes you.” _

_ “Excuse me, Sir?” I say confused. _

_ He lights a cigar and takes a long puff, blowing the smoke above his head. The smell about gags me and I struggle not to cough. _

_ “You’re new here.” _

_ “Yes. I started on Thursday, Sir.” _

_ “And how are you liking it? Are the other bartenders helping you out, making you feel welcome?” _

_ “Yes. It seems to be a good fit.” _

_ “Good. Has anyone told you about the uh, bonus program we have here?” _

_ “Bonus program? No, I am unaware of anything in that manner.” _

_ He chuckled and it made me uncomfortable. I really hoped that Steve was not about to bust down this door. I just needed a few more minutes. This was the big fish, I could feel it. _

_ “How many phone numbers did you collect on your first night?” _

_ I visibly gulped. I thought that was just a thing amongst the bartenders. “Twenty one.” _

_ “Were those from the male or female patrons?” _

_ “Those would be from the males, Sir. I received 15 from the females.” _

_ He smiled, pleased with my answers. Another smoke ring swirled above his head. “A gentleman has paid me your entire weeks salary to be allowed an hour of your undivided attention.” _

_ “I don’t understand, Sir.” I knew exactly where this was going and I was sick to my stomach. I just had to get him to say it out loud. _

_ “He has taken a liking to you, has paid me a fair amount for an hour of your time and since you are currently on my payroll, you will spend that hour indulging whatever needs and desires he has concerning you.” _

_ My head is now spinning. “What exactly are we talking about? Sharing a drink?” _

_ His laugh grated on my nerves. “Share a drink, have a conversation and if he wants to fuck you, then so be it.”  _

_ Sick bastard. Oh my God. This just went one step deeper than we all thought. Not only were drugs being passed around the place, wealthy people were paying for sex with the bartenders. “Where is he waiting?” _

_ “Last room on the right. Make him happy and there will be something in it for you.” _

_ “Thank you, Sir.” I wanted to throat punch him. Instead, I nod my head and work my way down the hallway. My heart is beating so hard in my chest it feels like it could crack my ribs. I knock twice and someone says ‘Come in.’ The doorknob is cool to the touch and it sends shivers throughout my body. Somebody just paid to have sex with me. Boy do they have one hell of a surprise waiting for them. _

_ There’s a lounge chair, a leather couch and a nice looking guy dressed casually. Probably easier to get out of that than a suit. He’s well built, muscular and tall. If things go sideways, I’m not sure I could take him in hand to hand. I recognize him from the previous nights. He’s one of the numbers I had received on the first, second and third nights. _

_ “Benny wasn’t kidding. You’re quite the catch.” _

_ I step into the room wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. No way in hell is this guy laying a finger on me. “Wasn’t expecting this when I came to work tonight.”  _

_ He throws back his drink and begins to approach me holding up his glass. “Can I get you anything?” _

_ “I really shouldn’t while I’m on the clock.” I say while trying to refuse. _

_ He holds up a finger and shakes it. “You’re on my clock right now. Let’s get something in you to loosen you up.” He runs a finger down my cheek and then turns to pour me a drink from the bar set up against the wall. _

_ “Better make it a double then.” _

_ He has a wicked grin as he drops some ice in a glass and I move further into the room. I feel his right hand on my hip as a glass of whiskey appears in front of my face. _

_ I accept the glass and swirl the contents, taking a sniff. “Ah the good stuff.” _

_ He turns me around and starts to work on my belt buckle.  _

_ “You sure you want to do that?” I ask, praying Steve is quicker than this guy. _

_ “You’re what I paid for. Yes I’m sure.” _

_ That’s all we needed. Five seconds later the door is broken down and macho man is on the floor with his arms behind his back. Steve is in my personal space asking if I’m alright. He takes the drink from me and sniffs it himself before handing it off to an officer to bag and tag as evidence. He squeezes my shoulder before turning to the John who has been hauled to his feet. “You better hope there isn’t anything extra in that drink or we are going to bust you for more than paying for sex.” _

_ He gives a grunt of disgust. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I was just having a drink with my friend here.” _

_ “Yeah, sure you were. And I guarantee when I dust his belt buckle for prints, I’m fairly positive I’m going to find more than his. Get this piece of trash out of here.” _

_ “Hey, I paid for…”  _

_ Steve spun around so fast it gave me whiplash. He had the John’s shirt balled up in his fist and pulled him in so they were nose to nose. He spoke very slowly and through clenched teeth. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t just hear you say that.” He pointed a finger back in my direction. “That is my husband and if I hear one more word out of your mouth about what you were going to do with him, I’m going to break every bone in your face. Do you read me?” _

_ The guy had the nerve to open his mouth to say something. The officer that had the John in his clutches pulled him back before Steve could punch him. “Let’s go, Romeo.” _

_ Steve turns back to me and puts both hands on my shoulders. “You okay?” _

_ “Yeah.” I shake my head but can feel my hands trembling. Steve notices and slides his hands down my arms until he has my hands clasped in his. I realize the drugs are still working their way through my system. They seem to deliver a second punch hours later and I was starting to feel the effects of round two. _

_ “Danny?” Steve squeezes my hands to pull me back from wherever the current trip was taking me. “Danny?” _

_ I blink several times and an officer hands Steve a bottle of water for me. He twists off the cap and pushes it into my hands. “Take a drink, Danno.” _

_ I do so and appreciate the cool water as it goes down my throat. _

_ “Better?” he asks me and I nod. He pats my cheek and then lets out a long frustrated breath. “Good. Scared me there for a second.” _

_ “Scared myself,” I try and joke. He doesn’t find it funny and neither do I. _

_ He reaches down to fasten my belt buckle and I stop him.  _

_ “No, Steve. Stop. His prints. Don’t touch it.” I have an officer with gloves remove my belt and put it in an evidence bag. We need all the ammo we can get against this guy. I take a deep breath and need some fresh air, need to collect myself. Steve follows me out the back as officers continue to haul the bad guys out the front into waiting police cars.  _

_ “Hey,” Steve’s puts a hand on my shoulder and pulls me into a tight embrace and it is the best feeling. “Good job, Babe.” _

_ “Thank you,” I whisper back into his ear. “I love you.” I pull back so I can kiss him.  _

_ “You sure you’re okay?” _

_ I nod and give him a reassuring smile. “Let’s wrap this up so we can go home.” _

_ “That’s going to be a while, buddy. We weren’t expecting a sex ring as well.” _

_ “Thank you for your timely intervention.” _

_ Steve kissed me hard. “My pleasure.” _

I startle awake. I wasn’t planning on drifting off to sleep. We had caught the bad guys, even managed to get them to spill on their supplier for the drugs. I’m glad it’s over. Nobody was counting on the second round trip the drug had on people and I’m even more thankful now I didn’t consume the entire packet. Finding the gun stash was an added bonus.

Now I need to figure out where my husband is. I check my phone again and realize I had only been asleep for six minutes. It felt like a lifetime.

  
  


 


	30. Chapter 30




	31. Chapter 31

 

**Author's Note:**

> To Liz... you know I love you. You put up with a lot of my crazy ideas (quit hurting Danno... I hear you, I do...) You mean so much to me and I really hate that we live so far apart (what's 2300 miles between friends?) I want you to know that I have never been so dedicated to anything in my entire life. You make me want to be a better writer, you encourage me to think outside the box, you make me want to be a better person, a better friend. Without you... I'd write stories, but I don't feel they would have the same life behind them, the same enthusiasm as they do now. You've encouraged me to explore, to reach for new goals.  
> So here's to us... To my Steve. I love you! And no... that wasn't hard to say.


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